Outrage as California officials name new elementary school in gang-ridden city for notorious 19th century outlaw hanged for murder

Controversial move: The name of one of California's most notorious Gold Rush-era criminals Tiburcio Vasquez will soon grace a new elementary school being built in Salinas

Tiburcio Vasquez was one of California's most notorious 19th century bandits, but that did not stop education officials in one county from voting unanimously to name a new school in his honor.

Come next August, children in Salinas will be heading to Tiburcio Vasquez Elementary School, unless the Alisal Union School District reconsiders its controversial naming choice.

The decision to celebrate the Gold Rush-era outlaw who was hanged for multiple murders and a long string of other crimes in 1875 sparked a public outcry when it was announced last month.

Law enforcement officials and even Salinas Mayor Joe Gunter insisted that the new school being built on the corner of Tuscany and Freedom Parkway in the city plagued by gang violence should bear the name of someone who was a positive role model, rather than a man best known for terrorizing Southern California over a century ago.

'We had a young man killed in Afghanistan who was from the Alisal area. He would have been a nice person to name the school after,' Gunter told ABC15.

According to a biography put together by the University of Southern California, Vasquez was one of the most infamous criminals in the state's history.

Born in Monterey in 1835, Vasquez turned to a life of crime as a teenager after stabbing a constable at age 14.

Public outcry: Law enforcement officials and even Salinas' mayor came out against the decision to name the new school under construction on the corner of Tuscany and Freedom Parkway after a convicted robber and murder

Vasquez spent the next four decades robbing and murdering his way through the San Benito County area.

In 1857, he was captured and sent to San Quentin Prison for stealing horses, but his incarceration did little to change his taste for crime.

Vasquez formed a gang of desperados and eluded authorities by seeking refuge in the canyons around the Tejo Pass. One of his favorite hiding spots is now known as Vasquez Rocks.

The charming, educated bandido, described by contemporaries as a fine dancer and ladies’ man, was finally captured in 1874 after one of his accomplices betrayed him to the authorities as punishment for having an affair with his wife.

Convicted for two murders, Vasquez was sentenced to death and hanged on March 19, 1875. Before his death, the suave scoundrel dictated a statement describing himself as a champion of oppressed people:

Alternative view: Members of the Alisal Union School District unanimously voted to honor Vasquez, who is considered by many members of the Hispanic community as a Robin Hood-like figure

'A spirit of hatred and revenge took possession of me. I had numerous fights in defense of what I believed to be my rights and those of my countrymen. I believed we were unjustly deprived of the social rights that belonged to us.'

And it is that side of Vasquez’s checkered life that some members of California’s present-day Hispanic community believe should be celebrated.

According to Francisco Estrada, a retired school teacher and member of the naming committee, Vasquez was a gifted student from a prominent family that lost their land when California, once a Mexican province, came under the control of the U.S. in 1847.

‘The community does not see Tiburcio as a thief or a murderer,’ Estrada said. ‘We see him as a fighter for social justice of the Mexican-Californio whose rights have been deprived.’

Crimes and punishment: Since age 14, Vasquez led a life of crime, stealing horses, robbing and murdering his way through Southern California until he was finally captured and sentenced to death by hanging in 1875

Estrada said he believes that Vasquez was falsely accused of murder.

An account of Vasquez's life, written in 1948 by the Historical Society of Southern California, also suggests that the crook had a more noble side to him.

‘It was well known that Vasquez was not a killer, that he repeatedly warned his followers not to kill, and his reluctance to take life, even when his own was in grave danger, was without doubt responsible for the remarkably few killings during his 23 years as an outlaw,’ the article said.

The Salinas school would not be the first institution to bear Vasquez's name. A clinic in Alameda County that provides medical care to those without insurance is called the Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center.

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Outrage as California officials name new elementary school in gang-ridden city for notorious 19th century outlaw hanged for murders